1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to grapples, and more specifically to apparatus for mounting grapples to the articulated boom of an excavator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An excavator equipped with a hydraulically-actuated boom, an arm attached to the boom, and a thumb and bucket attached to a free end of the arm, is commonly used in road clearing operations, particularly in forested regions. The bucket is used for digging up soil and removing debris from the surface of the ground. After trees have been felled as part of a road clearing process, the logs may be grasped and removed by the thumb; unfortunately, the logs are often broken or crushed in the process. A grapple mounted on the end of the arm provides a superior means for grasping and lifting logs. In the prior art, however, it has been necessary to remove both the thumb and the bucket from the end of the arm in order to mount a grapple, which is a time-consuming procedure. It is desirable, therefore, to provide apparatus for attaching a grapple on the end of the arm of an excavator without the necessity of having to remove either the thumb or the bucket. When an excavator is equipped with such an apparatus, including a grapple mount and a hydraulic drive system suitably modified to actuate a grapple attached to the grapple mount, it is possible to continuously and rapidly alternate between removal of logs and stumps using a grapple and removal of soil and debris using a bucket.